I find that new researchers sometimes approach GCP as bureaucracy, as paperwork to complete, as boxes to check. This view changes when they understand where these requirements came from. The history of research ethics is a history of failure. GCP exists because, without explicit protections, researchers have demonstrated a capacity to harm the very people they claim to help.

This lesson examines that history. Some of what follows is disturbing. That discomfort is appropriate. The founders of modern research ethics confronted horrors that should never be repeated. Understanding those horrors is essential to understanding why every GCP requirement matters.

I find that new researchers sometimes approach GCP as bureaucracy, as paperwork to complete, as boxes to check. This view changes when they understand where these requirements came from. The history of research ethics is a history of failure. GCP exists because, without explicit protections, researchers have demonstrated a capacity to harm the very people they claim to help.

This lesson examines that history. Some of what follows is disturbing. That discomfort is appropriate. The founders of modern research ethics confronted horrors that should never be repeated. Understanding those horrors is essential to understanding why every GCP requirement matters.